The timeline for Pope

[Anon726530]

I am 48 years old, my rival is Duke.
I absolutely despise every aspect of their program and suffer through every second of their great success. They are so far ahead of us right now, it is like comparing Division 1 vs Division 2.

For the University of Kentucky administration, our rival is still Louisville financially, academically, campus life. Louisville is going to completely beat the hell out of us again at Rupp this year, worse than the embarrassment we took last year. And it will immediately start to be discussed that we are moving on to a new coach.

We can only pray that we have hired an ultra successful athletic director by then and have a general manager in place that is able to hire a competent head basketball coach for the winningest program in the sport.

 

[AllBall]

I am 48 years old, my rival is Duke.
I absolutely despise every aspect of their program and suffer through every second of their great success. They are so far ahead of us right now, it is like comparing Division 1 vs Division 2.

For the University of Kentucky administration, our rival is still Louisville financially, academically, campus life. Louisville is going to completely beat the hell out of us again at Rupp this year, worse than the embarrassment we took last year. And it will immediately start to be discussed that we are moving on to a new coach.

We can only pray that we have hired an ultra successful athletic director by then and have a general manager in place that is able to hire a competent head basketball coach for the winningest program in the sport.

By then it may be just one of the winningest programs and not the leader.

 

[philstat]

Pope is absolutely not the right person for this position, he’s immensely unprepared and unready for this level of responsibility.

 

[MidseasonTweak]

Pope will be fired in January. Quote me

 

[philstat]

Pope will be fired in January. Quote me

Hopefully.

 

[moses1uk]

Pope will be fired in January. Quote me

That’s stupid . The leadership as almost all schools will not fire him during the season .

 

[UKBB4Ever]

That’s stupid . The leadership as almost all schools will not fire him during the season .

Might be stupid but I’m of the same opinion that Pope will be fired during the season if not before.

 

[BlueBloodKyFan72]

I am 48 years old, my rival is Duke.
I absolutely despise every aspect of their program and suffer through every second of their great success. They are so far ahead of us right now, it is like comparing Division 1 vs Division 2.

For the University of Kentucky administration, our rival is still Louisville financially, academically, campus life. Louisville is going to completely beat the hell out of us again at Rupp this year, worse than the embarrassment we took last year. And it will immediately start to be discussed that we are moving on to a new coach.

We can only pray that we have hired an ultra successful athletic director by then and have a general manager in place that is able to hire a competent head basketball coach for the winningest program in the sport.

It’s over just a shame he didn’t get the assignment

 

[moses1uk]

Might be stupid but I’m of the same opinion that Pope will be fired during the season if not before.

Name a few other power schools that fired during the season . I’ll wait on that

 

[UKortho]

I think he could have an emotional meltdown after a tough loss. Perhaps he starts crying or gets into with fans during the show after the game. It’s not impossible

 

[UKGrad24]

Pope will be done after the season, and it will be obvious by the 2nd month to everyone it’s over. One main reason will be the recruiting outlook will be pitiful. Then he’ll have quite a few loses early and he’ll be a zombie at the press conferences. Media will begin to say it’s not working and the fanbase will be 90+% saying change it. The boosters are largely already there. The new AD will feel the pressure. And they will settle at the end of the season. Not likely to change until then.

This has been 100% obvious since the beginning of season 2. He cannot manage, recruit, or run a program like this. If you didn’t see that I have no idea how you missed it. Pope can’t coach at UK has been unquestionably obvious since the beginning of season 2, which isn’t normal, but he was that bad. This is Kentucky someone like him can’t do this. Every sign you needed to see it was there, bad recruiting, blowouts, bad recruiting outlook, bad evaluation, bad roster management, bad coaching, players not responding, program turmoil, low-mid coaching history. How could anyone miss it?

 

[wildcat111]

I am 48 years old, my rival is Duke.
I absolutely despise every aspect of their program and suffer through every second of their great success. They are so far ahead of us right now, it is like comparing Division 1 vs Division 2.

For the University of Kentucky administration, our rival is still Louisville financially, academically, campus life. Louisville is going to completely beat the hell out of us again at Rupp this year, worse than the embarrassment we took last year. And it will immediately start to be discussed that we are moving on to a new coach.

We can only pray that we have hired an ultra successful athletic director by then and have a general manager in place that is able to hire a competent head basketball coach for the winningest program in the sport.

I hate to tell you that all of the bad stuff that has happen in the last few years is likely to get worse.....much worse.

 

[Cbbcrazy2]

I hate to tell you that all of the bad stuff that has happen in the last few years is likely to get worse.....much worse.

We have been on a downward trajectory for a few years, I hope your wrong on the much worse. It is bottom of the barrel for me already.

 

[CutNets]

Pope will be done after the season, and it will be obvious by the 2nd month to everyone it’s over. One main reason will be the recruiting outlook will be pitiful. Then he’ll have quite a few loses early and he’ll be a zombie at the press conferences. Media will begin to say it’s not working and the fanbase will be 90+% saying change it. The boosters are largely already there. The new AD will feel the pressure. And they will settle at the end of the season. Not likely to change until then.

This has been 100% obvious since the beginning of season 2. He cannot manage, recruit, or run a program like this. If you didn’t see that I have no idea how you missed it. Pope can’t coach at UK has been unquestionably obvious since the beginning of season 2, which isn’t normal, but he was that bad. This is Kentucky someone like him can’t do this. Every sign you needed to see it was there, bad recruiting, blowouts, bad recruiting outlook, bad evaluation, bad roster management, bad coaching, players not responding, program turmoil, low-mid coaching history. How could anyone miss it?

I had a lot of windshield time yesterday and put some thought into Pope, particularly after UL landed the 5-star. I feel like guys like Cal/Pitino/Hurley/etc basically made it out to where a kid was an absolute idiot if he did not choose UK. Some of the best sales reps in the world have this particular skill where they make a potential client feel like it's just a no-brainer to buy their product or acquire there services.

Cal walks into a recruits space and has all of the weapons in his pocket of multiple draft picks, proof of creating high monetary value for a player and his brain, playing time, exposure, etc etc. It's already demonstrated, so X player looks like an absolute fool if he doesn't choose UK because of proven demonstrable success.

Pope doesn't have these arrows in his quiver, so-to-speak. Which is EXACTLY why you CAN'T hire him to begin with. He's banking on the Kentucky name almost alone to land recruits, and they simply don't care. I understand he has a bag of money to work with, but he needs both (bag of money, and proven track-record of getting kids to a "promise land"). He doesn't have both, and a Kentucky head coach should have it all, metaphorically speaking.

If Bruce Pearl is the hire (for example), and he walks into a recruit's space to make a pitch, he's not leaving without a commitment. The kid either realizes he would be a fool to deny UK or the kid is actually a fool.

Pope was never going to win here in this era because he doesn't have the background. He's not a killer. What Pope has is a legacy of winning a title as a player at UK. Thats it. And these kids don't give a ****. Pope was never going to succeed in this era. And this administration should have known better.

 

[UKGrad24]

I had a lot of windshield time yesterday and put some thought into Pope, particularly after UL landed the 5-star. I feel like guys like Cal/Pitino/Hurley/etc basically made it out to where a kid was an absolute idiot if he did not choose UK. Some of the best sales reps in the world have this particular skill where they make a potential client feel like it's just a no-brainer to buy their product or acquire there services.

Cal walks into a recruits space and has all of the weapons in his pocket of multiple draft picks, proof of creating high monetary value for a player and his brain, playing time, exposure, etc etc. It's already demonstrated, so X player looks like an absolute fool if he doesn't choose UK because of proven demonstrable success.

Pope doesn't have these arrows in his quiver, so-to-speak. Which is EXACTLY why you CAN'T hire him to begin with. He's banking on the Kentucky name almost alone to land recruits, and they simply don't care. I understand he has a bag of money to work with, but he needs both (bag of money, and proven track-record of getting kids to a "promise land"). He doesn't have both, and a Kentucky head coach should have it all, metaphorically speaking.

If Bruce Pearl is the hire (for example), and he walks into a recruit's space to make a pitch, he's not leaving without a commitment. The kid either realizes he would be a fool to deny UK or the kid is actually a fool.

Pope was never going to win here in this era because he doesn't have the background. He's not a killer. What Pope has is a legacy of winning a title as a player at UK. Thats it. And these kids don't give a ****. Pope was never going to succeed in this era. And this administration should have known better.

Agree on all points. It’s just not possible for Pope to win in this climate. One of the reasons Barnhart had to retire 2 years before he wanted to was over this hire. They thought the brand and the program would elevate Pope and they severely miscalculated. Yes Kentucky matters and gives an edge but everything else must be correct for that to happen and it’s not. Just look around at how innovative these other programs are and we allowed Barnhart to handcuff this program which will all start coming out now. Pope was hired for control of flow of information and access for Barnhart. Until we make massive changes top down, including anything Mitch Barnhart has his hands in this is going nowhere. And that includes Mark Pope. You can’t think Mitch wasn’t fit and also agree with a hire of his like Pope which is what many are trying to do.

I say is over and over. Some people don’t understand risk / leverage business which is what this is. Mark Pope has zero leverage and tons of risk. Mix that into the JMI / Barnhart pot and you’re going nowhere. It’s not difficult to understand but if you don’t get that you’re not going to understand.

 

[legalbeagle123]

I believe the timeline of being fired on or before January 2027 is correct.

 

[Resignmarkpope]

Pope will be fired in January. Quote me

That would be a great Christmas present! Mark pope and his magic underwear can GTFO!

 

[Resignmarkpope]

That’s stupid . The leadership as almost all schools will not fire him during the season .

A smart leadership will definitely can his cult azz.

 

[R.O.T.Muckinfush]

Might be stupid but I’m of the same opinion that Pope will be fired during the season if not before.

They will have to so they can ensure they hop on the coaching search early and get the best availabke pick.

 

[BlueCane]

I am 48 years old, my rival is Duke.
I absolutely despise every aspect of their program and suffer through every second of their great success. They are so far ahead of us right now, it is like comparing Division 1 vs Division 2.

For the University of Kentucky administration, our rival is still Louisville financially, academically, campus life. Louisville is going to completely beat the hell out of us again at Rupp this year, worse than the embarrassment we took last year. And it will immediately start to be discussed that we are moving on to a new coach.

We can only pray that we have hired an ultra successful athletic director by then and have a general manager in place that is able to hire a competent head basketball coach for the winningest program in the sport.

I wonder if he might actually resign if it gets that bad. If we lose all the big preseason games he won't speak to anyone. I am only basing this on what happened past year. He did not handle things well. I don't see him making it through a loss to Kansas, Louisville, Zaga and whatever big names we play. We could go into SEC play with only mid major wins. Not a single power five win.

 

[WildcatWally-77]

I had a lot of windshield time yesterday and put some thought into Pope, particularly after UL landed the 5-star. I feel like guys like Cal/Pitino/Hurley/etc basically made it out to where a kid was an absolute idiot if he did not choose UK. Some of the best sales reps in the world have this particular skill where they make a potential client feel like it's just a no-brainer to buy their product or acquire there services.

Cal walks into a recruits space and has all of the weapons in his pocket of multiple draft picks, proof of creating high monetary value for a player and his brain, playing time, exposure, etc etc. It's already demonstrated, so X player looks like an absolute fool if he doesn't choose UK because of proven demonstrable success.

Pope doesn't have these arrows in his quiver, so-to-speak. Which is EXACTLY why you CAN'T hire him to begin with. He's banking on the Kentucky name almost alone to land recruits, and they simply don't care. I understand he has a bag of money to work with, but he needs both (bag of money, and proven track-record of getting kids to a "promise land"). He doesn't have both, and a Kentucky head coach should have it all, metaphorically speaking.

If Bruce Pearl is the hire (for example), and he walks into a recruit's space to make a pitch, he's not leaving without a commitment. The kid either realizes he would be a fool to deny UK or the kid is actually a fool.

Pope was never going to win here in this era because he doesn't have the background. He's not a killer. What Pope has is a legacy of winning a title as a player at UK. Thats it. And these kids don't give a ****. Pope was never going to succeed in this era. And this administration should have known better.

Agree 1000%---This is the best summary of our current Pope mess I've ever seen on this site--Well done, Sir!!!

 

[theBlues]

Pope will be done after the season, and it will be obvious by the 2nd month to everyone it’s over. One main reason will be the recruiting outlook will be pitiful. Then he’ll have quite a few loses early and he’ll be a zombie at the press conferences. Media will begin to say it’s not working and the fanbase will be 90+% saying change it. The boosters are largely already there. The new AD will feel the pressure. And they will settle at the end of the season. Not likely to change until then.

This has been 100% obvious since the beginning of season 2. He cannot manage, recruit, or run a program like this. If you didn’t see that I have no idea how you missed it. Pope can’t coach at UK has been unquestionably obvious since the beginning of season 2, which isn’t normal, but he was that bad. This is Kentucky someone like him can’t do this. Every sign you needed to see it was there, bad recruiting, blowouts, bad recruiting outlook, bad evaluation, bad roster management, bad coaching, players not responding, program turmoil, low-mid coaching history. How could anyone miss it?

The UK leadership know he's a lame duck but what is even worse is that they are squeezing him on NIL to make sure he is a lame duck. The right move for UK and the fans would have been to go ahead and make the change they know they're going to make at next season's end last month.